1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for docking a hard disk and to the electronic equipment fitted with such a device. Such equipment may for example be audiovisual equipment, such as a decoder or an optical reader for reading a DVD type disk, for connection to a TV set and including a data recording function, in particular for making TV or audiovisual recordings on a hard disk. The hard disk may be designed to be removable without dismantling the equipment.
2. Brief Summary of the Related Art
Generally, this type of device comprises a box that defines a housing in which a printed circuit card is arranged that has various electronic components mounted thereon. It is generally also on the card that the component(s) enabling the hard disk to be inserted are also mounted, in order to provide the appropriate electrical and electronic connections and in order to make extraction easy when the hard disk is designed to be removable. The box provides mechanical protection for all of these components and also gives the device a compact nature of attractive appearance.
At least some of the components contained in the box are liable to become hot in normal operation, and it is therefore appropriate to provide means for exchanging heat between the inside of the box and its external environment in order to cool them. Such heat exchange means may in particular be: ventilation openings formed in the walls of the box, possibly in association with forced ventilation means (fans); using a box having its walls made at least in part out of a metal-type material that conducts heat; or indeed using finned radiators.
The fact that devices of this type are liable to contain a hard disk adds an additional constraint in thermal terms, insofar as a hard disk also tends to become hot and it is necessary to keep it at an operating temperature that is generally lower than the operating temperature of the other electronic components, in particular the microprocessor. It is therefore necessary to have a cooling system that presents particularly good performance.
Unfortunately, the various above-mentioned technical solutions are not optimal.
It is not always desirable to make ventilation openings where they would be the most advantageous from a thermal point of view, e.g. in the top of the box, both for reasons of appearance and also to avoid dust collecting inside the box.
Similarly, the use of finned radiators is effective from a thermal point of view but not acceptable for the same reasons of appearance and of running the risk of collecting dust.
Finally, although fans can be used to force air convection inside the box, the way they are configured does not always lead to effective cooling of all of the components that might become hot, particularly those components that are farthest away from the fan. And in particular for reasons of bulk, it is not always possible to use the most powerful fans since they are generally much too large in size.